Research by geographers at the University of Nottingham into Blue-Green Cities and urban flood resilience has raised awareness of the multiple benefits of Blue-Green infrastructure and how barriers to delivery can be overcome through knowledge co-production and interdisciplinary collaboration.
Issue
Blue-Green infrastructure is a way of managing urban water and flood risk while addressing important issues facing the environment and society. Widespread delivery has been limited by uncertainty regarding the hydrologic performance of Blue-Green infrastructure and lack of confidence that it would be publicly accepted.
Approach
The researchers developed new strategies for managing urban flood risk as part of wider, integrated urban planning approach. Research focused first on Portland, Oregon, USA, then expanded to Newcastle, UK.
The research identified barriers to the delivery of Blue-Green infrastructure to address future flood risks and recommended strategies for overcoming these barriers. They also established and led the Newcastle Learning and Action Alliance (LAA).
Impact
The ‘Newcastle Blue and Green Declaration’ was signed by senior stakeholders from Newcastle City Council, Northumbrian Water, the Environment Agency (EA), Newcastle University, and engineering consultancies Arup and Royal HaskoningDHV. Ninety Blue-Green infrastructure assets have been included in newly completed developments within the Newcastle city boundary.
Investments exceeding £5 million were made by Northumbrian Water, the EA, and North Tyneside Council in North Tyneside, including the construction of five attenuation basins. The researchers were commissioned by Northumbrian Water to evaluate the multiple benefits of this project, and it was determined that this scheme would generate flood damage reduction benefits of approximately £50 million over a 100-year period.
Blue-Green infrastructure effectively removes contaminated sediment from local watercourses. Evidence of its effectiveness lies in the concentrations of Fe, Ca, Al, Ba, Cr, Ni, Cu, Mg, Pb and K in Newcastle Blue-Green infrastructure, which exceed those in the adjacent Ouseburn stream. Other local environmental benefits include a three-fold increase in macrophyte taxon and 3-spined Stickleback population.
More information
Institution: University of Nottingham
Researchers: Dr Emily O’Donnell, Professor Colin Thorne
The research in this case study was shared in the Society’s Environment/Society Forum knowledge exchange event series in 2021. Read the report and findings here.